Sunday, November 12, 2006

The Cousin Get-Together

Yesterday was the the 2nd Cousin Get-Together. The day was rainy and messy and cold, but the warmth from the get-together overshadowed that. This special day had been in the planning stages for a few weeks, and now sadly it is over, and it went way too quickly. Today, I feel sad that it is over, and am going through withdrawal......

A little history.

We are some of the cousins on my Dad's side of the family, who are within travelling distance to visit each other. As children, my fondest memory is of course Christmas, where the tradition was to visit each of these cousins at Christmas time. We have all grown up, and we all have busy lives. We work, we do stuff, and so we carry on with life. We try to keep in contact via email and web cam, and some visiting.

Last summer, 3 of the cousins and their spouses came to Sleepy Hollow for a small gathering of the clan you could say. We had just moved here about a month prior, and we weren't entirely settled, but it didn't matter. The visit was nice and comfortable, and I think we all had a nice time.

This year was extra special, because our cousin who lives in BC planned to come east for a visit. For myself, I think it must have been about 40 years since I last saw her with the exception of our web cam nights of course). Hence this year's gathering of the clan. Five cousins and spouses congregated at a central location, about a 3 hour drive for everyone, from different parts of the province.

Once we got there, it was instant connection.....lots of huggies and smoochies and some tears. We had lunch, then got down to business, family business.

We were in a corner of a cozy restaurant, and this corner had a corner table set up where one of my cousins set up his laptop and scanner. We brought family photo albums, along with blank CDs and flash sticks. We looked impressive, I must say. So much technology, so little time.

Four hours went by so quickly. But I think we all left with a sense of comfort, and belonging, and family, and some new memories to add to our collection. Now I am looking forward to our next visit.

5 comments:

Barb said...

Moments like those are so special. It's nice that everyone came to enjoy the day. Are you going to post any pictures?

Mike said...

It's nice to be able to see family like that. I'm glad you had a good time. I too used to miss my cousins after they left.

masgblog said...

thx guys - I might post a pic of the gang..will have to see....it's nice to maintain tha link with our past.

JMai said...

40 years between visits! That's wonderful that you were able to see each other again (without the use of web-based electronic devices).

It's sad, I'm not close with my cousins. I saw one cousin at my sister's wedding in June, and I'd say I haven't seen her in at least 7 or 8 years. I didn't know who she was.

Barb said...

It's about time... to make a new post :)